S.A. domestic workers seek better pay, conditions

A San Antonio group named Domésticas Unidas, Spanish for United Domestic Workers, will hold a demonstration at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 30, at the corner of Loop 1604 and U.S. 281.

According to its press advisory, the event — in one of the most affluent areas of the city and one in which many of them work — is “an attempt to inform” employers about the people who clean their homes, prepare their meals, care for their children and provide in-house care for their aging parents.

“We want our employers to realize that we are humans just like them, and we deserve to be treated well and to be paid just wages,” said Aracely Herrera, one of the leaders of the group, in Spanish.

A report about U.S. domestic workers by the U.N. Human Rights Committee found that domestic workers in the United States are predominantly female, come from communities of color and work long hours for little pay and no overtime.

“Domestic workers frequently face exploitation and abuse, a problem further exacerbated by their association with particular groups (women, minorities and migrants) who suffer multiple forms of discrimination,” the report says. “Domestic workers experience abuses ranging from verbal abuse and economic exploitation to physical and sexual assault and forced servitude.”

While laws such as the Fair Labor Standards Act, the National Labor Relations Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act and federal minimum wage laws exist to protect them, such laws don’t cover domestic workers, the U.N. report says.